The Dinner Party
by BluebirdSunflower
Summary: A band of thieves comes to Petropolis
1. Chapter 1: New Changes (updated)

It was an average day in Petropolis. At D.O.O.M. headquarters, Snaptrap and his henchman were trying to think of a new crime to commit, when someone came down the stairs.

"Hey guys," said a pretty female rat, a lighter gray than Snaptrap and bearing little resemblance to him. Snaptrap and Larry looked up and smiled, "Hey Sissy!" Snaptrap then turned to the rest of the gang, "You guys all remember my little sister, Cecelia?"

Everyone smiled and mumbled hello's. "You got a letter," Cecelia, better known as Sissy, handed an envelope to Snaptrap. Larry, who was sitting next to his boss, got down from his chair and slid it out for his wife to sit (A.N. Larry is Snaptrap's brother-in-law). Sissy sat down, then pulled Larry into her lap.

Snaptrap opened the envelope and pulled out an invitation, remarking that the return label was from the post office and was signed "PR and PR". Then he read aloud from the card.

_To the members of D.O.O.M., you are all cordially invited to a dinner party hosted by Las Banditas this Friday night. Dinner will be served at 6:00. Please follow the enclosed directions to the house on the mountain outside of Petropolis. We look forward to meeting you. Signed, Phineus and Philamina Rodentius._

"Finny and Phil!? They're back?!" Sissy squealed excitedly, squeezing Larry.

"It sure sounds like it!" answered Snaptrap, equally excited. The brother and sister explained to the rest of D.O.O.M. that the Rodentius twins had been their best friends as children, before the twins moved away after graduating 8th grade. The twins were loud, excitable, trustworthy, athletic, and Phil had asthma.

"You know, I used to think that I'd marry Phil, and Finny was the only guy in the world good enough for Sissy," Snaptrap added as he looked over at Sissy and Larry, both of whom glared back at him. Sissy was aware of how her brother treated her husband, but was a little afraid to say anything, even though he loved her. He was, after all, the leader of a criminal organization.

"I wonder what's a lass bandit-tass?" Snaptrap said aloud.

"Las Banditas," Francisco corrected, "It's Spanish for 'The Bandits', and the as endings means the group is all girls."

"Spanish?" Larry asked. "Bandits?" Snaptrap and Sissy said in unison as they looked at each other quizzically. "GIRLS?!" the rest of the boys repeated excitedly (A.N. In "Snapnapped", Ollie says "Ladies don't really talk to us.")

After considering a moment, thinking that the Rodentius twins were not really the type to become criminals, Snaptrap waved the invitation in the air as he asked who wanted to go. Every hand, including Sissy's, was raised. "Okay, we're all going," Snaptrap declared. Sissy set Larry down and ran upstairs. "Hey, where ya goin'?" Snaptrap called after her.

"Shopping! It's a dinner party, so we should probably dress up!" Sissy called down. Her brother and husband groaned at the word "shopping", and the rest of the gang snickered at their pain.


	2. Chapter 2: The Party (updated)

On Friday, Snaptrap and his men and sister were dressed up and ready to see Finny and Phil, the Rodentius twins. Finding the house was easier than they had expected, and they arrived about the same time as the Chameleon and BirdBrain and his henchmen. BirdBrain and the Chameleon had also received invitations to the dinner party. The house was a three-story Tudor, surrounded by woodland and encircled by a creek.

Zippy rang the doorbell, pressing it with her beak, and almost immediately a pretty white weasel in a blue strapless evening dress opened the door and said in a Spanish accent, "Good evening ladies and gentlemans!" She had blue eyes which matched her dress and a charming smile. Her brown hair was tied up in a fancy style. She opened the door wider and stepped aside to let everyone in, everyone being Snaptrap, Sissy, Larry, Ollie, Francisco, Mole, Bad Dog, Leather Teddy, Chameleon, BirdBrain, Zippy, Bat, Owl, Duck, Ewe, and Holy Cow.

Inside, directly in front of the guests was a stairway and hallway. To the right was a dining room, to the left a living room. Standing in the hallway was a hedgehog in a white sundress. She was cute in her rounded figure with intelligent brown eyes; unfortunately she was covered in stickles. "I am Lucia," said the weasel, "and this is Jacinta. You'll see the rest of Las Banditas soon, but for now let Jacinta take your coats." The hedgehog held out her arms and took two coats at a time before hanging them in the hall closet.

Bat is blind (A.N. No, duh!), so he was unaware when he stepped up to give Jacinta his coat that she is a hedgehog and happened to be hanging up BirdBrain and Owl's coats with her back turned to him. Poor Bat got two handfuls and a faceful of stickles before stumbling back, crying out in pain. Jacinta squeaked and jumped forwards into the closet, then spun around to see who had been her unlucky victim. Lucia said something quickly in Spanish to her, then apologized as she helped BirdBrain remove the stickles from his henchman. Jacinta reached into the spikes on her back and pulled out a jar which she handed to Lucia. The weasel opened it and started smearing a green, gel-like substance on Bat's poke holes. His whimpering instantly began to die down. D.O.O.M. and the Chameleon had been given a good laugh, and three other girls had appeared to see what the commotion was about.

The first girl was a brown otter with short, brown hair. She was in a black leather mini-dress and wore a collar with spikes on it. Her black eyes narrowed, annoyed at the situation. The second girl, a bat like Bat, wore no sunglasses, allowing everyone to see her soft, brown eyes full of concern. She wore a purple sleeveless dress with a V-neck and no back, her black hair chin-length. The third girl, a vixen (female fox) wiggled around curiously as she tried to get a good look at what happened. She wore a blue-green swirled sleeveless dress and her red hair was tied in a loose bun.

After everyone had calmed down, Jacinta and Lucia finished hanging the coats as the new girls introduced themselves. "I'm Josephiña," said the otter in an American accent, "Josie for short, and the bat is Juanita and the vixen is Salena." The two bowed slightly as they were introduced. Then a voice called "Hello!" from the top of the stairs. Everyone crowded in front of the stairway to see.

A male rat in a suit and a female rat in a red evening dress with a sash around her shoulders walked arm in arm down the steps. Both had gray fur, both were smiling warmly, both were very attractive, and they looked very much alike. "Finny! Phil! Is that you?" the Snaptrap siblings called out. The Rodentius twins' smiles grew bigger in recognition. "Hey! Vermy and Sissy!" the male rat called back as the female let go of his arm and quickened her steps to give her old friends a hug. Her brother was soon beside them, giving them each a good squeeze as he said, "Man, it's been ages! What are you guys doin' here?"

"_I_ am the leader of the Diabolical Order of Mayhem!" Snaptrap announced proudly, "And Sissy wanted to come when she heard you guys were here!"

"Well come on in, man, everybody!" The twins turned to the rest of their guests. "I am Philamina Rodentius, better known as Phil, and this is my brother Phineus, better known as Finny. We have not been to Petropolis in years, and our banditas are completely new to town, so we wanted to get better acquainted with our peers."

Everyone was introduced, then they filed into the dining room, where a long table was being set by an alligator in a black and white evening dress, black hair tied into a tight bun. "This is the last of our gang, Francesca," Finny stated, "She's a bit shy, so don't be offended if she don't wanna talk to ya." Francesca smiled nervously, bobbed in a curtsey, then trotted into the kitchen.

Finny ushered Snaptrap and Sissy towards one end of the table, "You guys sit either side a' me, Sissy's man can sit next ta her an' Phil can sit next ta Vermy." Finny sat at the head with Sissy to his right and Snaptrap on the left. The Chameleon was set beside Phil. BirdBrain was seated next to Chameleon, with Juanita between him and Bat. Bat sat next to Owl, then Jacinta, then Zippy, Duck, and Salena. Ewe sat at the far end of the table, opposite Finny. Ollie was seated next to Larry, with Lucia was between him and Bad Dog. Next to BD was Leather Teddy, then Josie, then Mole, then Francisco. Holy Cow was placed next to Ewe, so that there was an empty place between her and Francisco for Francesca. In this way, there was a Bandita between two villains.

After a few moments, Francesca returned with silverware, handed a set to each person, and finally sat down. Everybody talked during dinner, all the while Banditas were getting up to remove empty bowls or refill water pitchers or find some extra napkins. Jacinta never spoke a word of English, but spoke loudly so one of the other Banditas could translate. Bat talked with Juanita the entire time, she had been very worried about his injuries even though he reassured her he was fine. The Rodentius and Snaptrap families had a wonderful time catching up, telling funny stories about their childhood. Larry listened, thinking about what Snaptrap had said earlier about Finny and Sissy making a good couple. It worried him a little bit, especially since Finny was handsome and was making the others laugh hard, but he didn't notice any secret glances or looks of regret between them.

After dinner the Rodentius twins lead their guests into the living room while the girls cleared the table. Larry found a moment to whisper to Finny about his concerns, but Finny just laughed and said "No way, man! She's married to you, and she ain't quite my type." Larry walked over to Sissy, reassured. When Las Banditas rejoined the others, Finny put on some music for everyone to dance, a playlist of 70's, country, and teenage groups. Immediately Phil grabbed Snaptrap's hand and led him on the floor, a huge grin on his face. Ollie did the same with Lucia, and Sissy with Larry. BirdBrain asked Juanita to dance a song with him while the Chameleon asked Josie. Francisco had been trying all through dinner to get Francesca to talk to him, only now was she starting to come out of her shell. Finny took turns dancing with Holy Cow and Ewe, the two girls quite taken with the rat. Mole, Owl and Duck were taking turns dancing (carefully) with Jacinta and Zippy while BD and LT argued who would dance with Salena first. After a few songs they all sat down while Finny explained where he and Phil had found each of the girls who became Las Banditas.


	3. Chapter 3: MeetingLasBanditas (updated)

"It happened a little while after my sister and I became thieves, and I'll explain that story another time," began Finny with a nod to the Snaptrap siblings. "We decided to start small, out in the desert where stores aren't likely to have a lot of security. Our first stop was an Indian village in New Mexico. We had just lifted some chips from a convenience store when we ran inta a little weasel. She was about ta rat us out to the clerk when we covered her mouth and drug her over ta the back, so's we could explain we had no money and were starvin'. She said 'Hokay, Señor, I buy you food.' The three of us went to the front, Phil an' me with some snacks, the weasel wit' two cases a' beer. We went out the store together and me an' Phil walked her home ta thank her. Her name was Lucia Santos, and she lived with her drunk uncle, had since her folks passed. We stuck around about a month and got ta know more 'bout each other, like how Lucia's uncle could get nasty-mean when he was drunk an' had no job ta pay for his beer. Lucia worked at a funeral parlor, makin' sure the bodies looked nice an' all. She didn' have such a great rep (reputation), touchin' corpses an' chargin' ta bury 'em. So me an' Phil offered to bring her with us when we left."

"After New Mexico, we went to Arizona. While we were passin' through, we came to a swampy place where a few gators an' crocs an' stuff were livin'. That's when our tire blew out. One a' the gators offered ta give us a spare. The girls went inside to wait, where they found poor little Francesca Sanchez. The guy was her big brother, who'd beat her just for talkin' around him an' his guys. Phil an' Lucia decided to sneak Fran inta the back of our car while me n' her bro had our backs turned. After we'd been on the road two hours the girls decided it was time to tell me 'bout our new sister, and I do think of all Las Banditas as my little sisters. It took a long time for Fran ta stop stutterin' around me, but she's gettin' over it."

"Texas was next. We found a small town that had a lotta criminal problems, so we figured, 'What's four more?' That's when we ran inta Josie an' her gang. Josie hung around ta talk to us outsiders pretty often, an' when she heard we were plannin' on leavin' before the cops could find out about us, she said she'd come with. 'You guys are goin' places,' she said, 'an' I want outta this dump!' So we said 'sure.'"

"After Texas, we crossed the border inta Mexico. We came to a little mountain village where Juanita Gomez had just lost her grandparents, who she'd lived with. She let us get away wit' robbin' trash heaps an' gardens before we decided ta leave, an' since Juanita was alone without us we asked her ta come along. See, the village was down at the bottom a' the mountain, she an' her grandparents had lived at the top, where she couldn't talk ta nobody too often."

"We went south, then eastwards inta Rio, Brazil. It was Carnival time, and wit' all the distractions around, lootin' was fair easy. That didn' stop Jacinta Rodriguez from catchin' us, though. An' Jacinta's cousin that she lived wit' was a cop! But he was pretty lazy an' took bribes an' stuff. She'd been lootin' herself ta try an' snap 'im inta doin' his job. She was a tech expert, can hack inta any computer or security system anywhere. So we begged her ta join our group, since the rest of us ain't so good wit' computers an' stuff. It was Jacinta that got us onta a ship headed for Puerto Rico after Carnival was over an' the cops started catchin' up ta all the crooks."

"In Puerto Rico we mostly trekked around the jungle, where we found Salena. She didn' have _anybody_, she'd lost her pop, her hubby, and her kids! An' she was so cute an' energetic we just couldn't leave 'er behind. After that, we came back ta the states, an' we been travelin' around together ever since."

Everyone cheered the happy ending. Snaptrap and Sissy immediately started asking about the Rodentius' travels. Francisco turned to Francesca, who blushed and lowered her head. Francisco took her chin in his hand and lifted her head so they were eye-level. The gator girl smiled nervously, and Francisco smiled back reassuringly. Ollie tried to ask Lucia why she had such a bad reputation just for working in a funeral parlor, but she turned aside to ask the Chameleon to stop flicking his tongue to catch the flies swarming so close to her face. "Oh, I almost forgot to mention," Phil suddenly spoke up. "Some of you may have noticed that Jacinta doesn't speak English. She does understand it, and she can speak it, she just prefers to use her first language, which is Spanish. If you want to talk to her, the rest of us will be happy to translate."

After some jokes and a little more dancing, Finny and some of the guys started getting a little bored, so they decided to take a little tour of the house. The lower floor circled around, with a second staircase in the kitchen. There was also a basement stairway in the kitchen, with another stairway from the basement to outside. The second floor was the bedrooms and a bathroom, with a stairway at the end of the hallway leading up to the attic where Finny slept. "It gives me more privacy from the girls," he explained. The guys looked out the window to the backyard, where there was a pool next to a trampoline. After looking at them for a moment, Finny grinned and looked sideways at Snaptrap, who knew it was an indication of a crazy idea. "What if I jump out the window into the pool?"

All the guys stared at Finny in disbelief. "You're not really going to do it, are you?" asked the Chameleon. The others also tried to dissuade their new friend, but Snaptrap knew once Finny got something on his mind, nothing could stop him. Eagerly, Finny took off his shoes, socks, suitcoat, shirt, and tie, and then climbed out the window onto the ledge of the house.

"Check it, I'ma jump onta the trampoline an' inta the pool!" The others called for him to come back inside, but Finny ignored them as he got into position over the trampoline. Then he jumped. True to his word, he bounced off the trampoline and into the pool, making a huge splash. Some of the guys had covered their eyes when Finny jumped and peeked through their fingers when they heard the splash. When the rat bobbed his head up and waved at them smiling, they lowered their hands and sighed in relief. The noise of the water had alerted the girls, who came out to the backyard. Phil and Las Banditas immediately began scolding Finny in Spanish, probably so their guests wouldn't hear certain words. After Finny had been dragged out of the pool and dried off, BirdBrain decided it was time for him and his henchmen to leave. The twins and Las Banditas saw them all to the door, with Jacinta, Lucia and Juanita apologizing again to Bat for his run-in to Jacinta's stickles. Bat smiled and waved them off, especially Juanita, whom he had talked to through most of the evening. Zippy, Ewe and Holy Cow lingered a bit in saying goodbye to Finny, who stroked his short whiskers in a distinguished way as he complimented their dancing skills and made the girls blush and giggle.

"They're not all that great," Snaptrap remarked to Finny after the Whirly Bird had taken off, "but they're much better than Agent Katswell." His henchmen and the Chameleon snickered as they thought of Kitty's dancing.

"Agent Katswell? You mean Kitty, that little girl?" asked Finny.

Snaptrap nodded, "She's a T.U.F.F. agent now, she and her partner are always putting us in jail!" The others nodded, muttering various complaints against T.U.F.F. The girls nodded or shook their heads or clicked their tongues sympathetically, but all Finny could say was, "Hm."


	4. Chapter 4: Aftermath

**Special thanks to PrismaBat for your reviews.**

By 11 o'clock Larry, Mole and Sissy were exhausted, so Snaptrap decided it was time to head home. His men groaned at the announcement. Phil pretended to be insulted, "What? We haven't seen each other since we were fourteen and you already want to leave?"

Snaptrap smiled, remembering how the twins would make a fuss whenever he and Sissy left first after a day of playing. From memory he recited, "Sorry guys, but Mom wants Sissy back before curfew." The twins understood his reference and laughed. The four rats then pulled into a group hug, and the girls started to cry while their brothers put an arm around their shoulders, giving them a light shake. "We gotta see each other again soon," Sissy sniffed, smiling.

"Oh yeah, man!" Finny assured her, "We plan on stickin' around for a while! Just not tomorrow, we meetin' the other villains tomorrow."

Sissy smirked, "And you've gotta tell us why Finny's grammar is all messed up when Phil speaks so proper." Finny laughed sarcastically.

Philamina smiled smugly, "It's because I graduated high school and college, but he didn't even finish high school." That impressed Snaptrap, since he had never even been to high school (A.N. "Til' D.O.O.M. Do Us Part")

D.O.O.M. headed out the door with Las Banditas and the twins following. The girls enchanted the henchmen with their charming smiles, soft voices pleading with them to stay a while longer or look them up in a few days, and fluttering eyes. Actually, Jacinta's smile looked rather smug, and Josie's dark eyes were narrowed in a smirk, but the men did not notice. An hour or so later the Chameleon also left, getting the same farewell from his host and hostesses.

It is important to note that when everyone got home, everyone except Snaptrap, his sister and her husband noticed that all their cash was gone, and Bat was the only one who remembered two momentary feelings at the dinner table like someone pulling his wallet out of his pocket and then replacing it. Francisco vaguely remembered hearing one of the twins whisper in Spanish something about "not Vermy, Sissy or Larry." The gator had taken Spanish in school but was not fluent, or fast enough to catch every word. If he had been, he might have heard "Don't steal from Vermy, Sissy or Larry."

The next night, Quacky the Duck and the Sharing Moose, Dr. Rabies and Madame Catastrophe (A.N. Does anyone think she should be the sister Kitty mentioned in "Diary of a Mad Cat"?), both Mad Cows (A.N. There is a male and a female), Crazy Horse, Wild Turkey, Kung Pow Chicken, Snowflake and Slush, Jack Rabbit, and the members of F.L.O.P.P. (Meerkat, Escape Goat, Wannabee, and the Bluffalo) were invited to a dinner party at Las Banditas' and also came home to realize they had been pickpocketed.

Sunday morning Snaptrap and his henchmen were in their lair, complaining about the missing money when they remembered Las Banditas means The Bandits. "Why, those rotten little-" Bad Dog started to growl when Snaptrap slammed his fist hard on the table.

"No one is going to call Las Banditas any names, is that clear?" Snaptrap swept his gaze around the room, settling in a glare at BD, who sulked back in his seat. Snaptrap was not very bright, and had not seen the Rodentius family in years, but he had grown up with them and knew how their minds worked. He realized Finny had put him and Sissy between Phil and Larry so that they would not be sitting next to the pickpockets, and had put Ollie next to Larry for the same reason. If nothing else, the twins were loyal friends. "Those guys are geniuses," he defended, "inviting a bunch of villains to a party, taking our coats, and they were always moving in and out of the room, and they're all so pretty we all focused on their faces instead of what they were doin'. It was easy for 'em!" He had not mentioned that his wallet remained untouched. When Larry started to point this out, Snaptrap did not hesitate to throw him in the shark tank.


	5. Chapter 5: Finny

That afternoon, agents Dudley Puppy and Kitty Katswell were hunting down a skunk that had just robbed the First Petropolis Piggy Bank. Kitty was now chasing the robber on foot, Dudley was going to cut him off up the street with the T.U.F.F. Mobile. Suddenly, somebody stepped out from behind a corner in the skunk's path. Pulling out a gun, the skunk called "Get outta my way!" Kitty saw the guy (who looked to be a rat) step back, then as the skunk came up, the rat whirled around and used his long, thick tail to whack the skunk in the face. The skunk dropped his gun and bag of loot to hold his face as he fell backwards, landing on the sidewalk. The rat kicked the gun away, used his tail to grab the sack of money, and stepped on the skunk's stomach while pinning the robber down by his throat. Kitty and Dudley reached the two of them at the same time.

Dudley jumped out of the car with a pair of handcuffs, "In the name of T.U.F.F., you're under arrest!" As they cuffed the robber and Kitty led him into the Mobile converted into a paddy wagon, Dudley turned to the rat, "Nice moves, dude!"

The rat handed him the bag of money, "Aw, it's no trouble, man! Anything to see Kitten again!"

Kitty's automatic response to hearing her childhood nickname was to spin around and shout "Don't call me that!", but then she thought how no one had called her that since her friends the Rodentius twins moved away. She took a closer look at the rat. "Finny? Phineus Rodentius? Is that you?"

The rat winked, "In the flesh!" Kitty squealed and jumped to hug him, then they stepped back to take better look at each other. Finny had grown tall and slightly muscular, handsome, and he looked a bit younger than he actually was. Finny thought Kitty was beautiful. "How the heck are ya, Kit?" he asked.

"I'm fine, thanks! Oh, Fin, this is my partner Dudley!" Dudley shook hands with Finny, but he had an uneasy feeling in his gut. Just like when he met Jack Rabbit. But that feeling seemed to disappear when Finny offered to buy them both lunch.

Before going to the Sea Shanty restaurant, they stopped at the bank to return the stolen money sack, much to the bankers' relief. After they left though, the clerk counting the money said, "Hey, how much did you say the skunk took?"

"About $9000, give or take a few bucks. Why?"

"Around $200 is missing!"


	6. Chapter 6: Explanations

That same afternoon, Francisco decided to take a walk. He was pretty upset that Francesca could steal from him when he had tried to be nice to her, something he did not do with many people. He had just entered the park when he saw the bandita walking by the pond. With no real plan he marched over.

Francesca was seated on a bench reading when Francisco came up and startled her. She could tell by the look on his face he was angry about being robbed, and she started to panic. "What's the big idea robbing us? You know, we were tryin' to behave since our boss and your bosses are old pals," the male gator started off.

Francesca trembled, tears springing to her eyes as she lowered her head and stammered out, "I is s-s-so s-s-s-sorry, b-b-but w-we n-n-needing m-m-m-money." Against his will, Francisco felt his heart soften as he remembered Finny's story about the girl being abused by her brother for speaking around men. Sighing, he sat down on the bench next to her, but would not look at her. Francesca seemed surprised that she was not being beaten right now.

Elsewhere in the city, Bad Dog figured he would hold up a pharmacy to get his money back. When he got there, however, the vixen from the dinner party was running out of the building with a paper bag clutched in one hand, keys in the other. BD decided now he could get even with Las Banditas; he grabbed Salena by the shoulder as she reached a van. "Who do you think you are, ya-" BD howled when the vixen sank her little fangs into his hand. Remember, she was raised in the jungle, therefore, she is a wild animal.

"Bose is dying! I bringing her medicine!" Salena shouted as she climbed into the van, and BD climbed onto the roof and held on for dear life the whole way up the mountain to Las Banditas' house. There they found Philamina lying on the ground by the doorway with Lucia holding her up in a sitting position. Phil was gasping for air, her asthma inhaler in the little bag Salena now handed to her. After inhaling some medicine, Phil's breathing returned to normal. Salena explained to BD as they watched her, "Bose having asthma, lungs close. We have no medicines for her she can suffocate! She keeping prescriptions and cell phone, the rest of us keeping beepers. We don't use phones so policia (police) no can track signals. If bose having attack, she beep us get her medicine. Can't steal medicine, need be made, is why we steal moneys."

BD nodded, the story made sense to him. Phil stood up and apologized to him for the robbery, explaining that Las Banditas also needed money to pay for the minutes for her cell phone (she had no calling plan) and other various expenses that came up.

All over Petropolis, some of Las Banditas' unlucky victims were hearing these same explanations and apologies. Most of the criminals figured it was not as big a deal as they originally thought, that Las Banditas actually needed the cash more than they did and would not steal from the same people twice. The men of D.O.O.M. especially thought so, and offered to hire Las Banditas.


	7. Chapter 7: Merger and Goodbye

"And now, please give a warm welcome to our new partners," Snaptrap rolled his eyes and gestured to the stairs, "Finny Rodentius and Las Banditas!" His henchmen cheered and applauded; it had been a week since the dinner party and the boys had forgiven the girls, establishing friendships between the two groups. From now on, the groups would work together. Las Banditas and Finny were perfectly okay with stealing and helping the others escape from jail and fighting in defense, but they refused to carry weapons or kill or seriously harm anyone. Josie was the only exception, she was the only bandita who was okay with fighting. It was natural, her friends supposed, since she had been a gang member since she was nine. They were not sure if she had ever killed anyone, but something told them it would not be surprising if she ever did.

Finny had mentioned only to his sister Phil about meeting Kitty and Dudley, and had seen them twice since Sunday. He had not told Kitty about his turn to the dark side. He also had not told Phil about a letter he had received from their father, Phillip, and he usually told Phil everything! (When Phillip and Philamina are in the same room, everyone calls Philamina "Mina".)

For about a month, D.O.O.M. and Las Banditas worked together in different crimes, mostly robberies. With Jacinta's technical know-how, breaking into different stores was a breeze. On the few rare occasions where any of them got caught, Las Banditas always made sure that at least Phil got away safe. They were all worried about Phil having an asthma attack in jail and not having her inhaler or emergency epipen with her, leading to her death. Also, with Phil on the outside she could find ways to break the rest of them out.

After a month, Finny took Snaptrap aside for a talk. "I ain't ezactly sure how ta ask this Verm," he started. "I got a letter from my dad in Africa."

_"Africa?" _Snaptrap was surprised. "What's he doing there?"

"He's got some old friends there in a gang. A year back he went over ta help 'em wit' their gang war. Before me an' the girls came here, a got a note from 'im askin' me ta come help 'em." Finny looked down at his feet and rubbed the back of his neck, "I ain't been more 'n a few blocks away from Phil since our folks divorced."

"You didn't tell me your parents separated, I'm sorry to hear it," Snaptrap said quietly.

Finny nodded, "It's that stinkin' 'Rodentius family curse' me an' Phil used ta tell yas about. Bad luck follows us around. You didn' know the reason we left was 'cause Dad lost his job an' couldn' get another here in the city. He was a high school dropout, like me, an' nobody wants ta hire dropouts or guys wit' no college degree. We moved 'cause Dad got a lead in Petsburgh, but when we got there they said the position was filled. Mom decided she couldn' stay wit' Dad no more. After she left, me an' Phil stayed wit' Dad to take care a' him."

"When high school started, Phil an' me kept gettin' sick an' Dad still wasn' workin'. When I could, I worked odd jobs around town, an' Phil did my homework for me so I could work longer. I failed school an' got kicked out, is what ended up happenin'. Me an' Dad did everythin' we could to get her in college, an' when she graduated she stuck wit' me ta take care a' me, 'cause that's about when I became a thief. We tried ta keep in touch wit' our folks. Anyways, me an' Phil is real close, but ta keep 'er from worryin' 'bout Dad I ain't told her he's in Africa."

"And," Finny concluded guiltily, "I decided to go to Africa ta help 'im an' his buddies, but I can't take Phil an' the girls wit' me. It's too dangerous an' scary for 'em. So, I was hopin' you could watch 'em for me while I'm away."

Snaptrap stared at his friend, "You want _me _to watch your sister and bandits while you go halfway across the globe?!" He considered a moment before asking, "Why me?"

"You an' Sissy an' us go way back, an' you guys been real nice ta my sisters. I trust yas to protect 'em from the cops an' anybody tryin' ta get _wise_ wit' the girls," Finny looked him in the eye.

Snaptrap thought about it. On one hand, he hated to say goodbye to his long-lost friend after what seemed like such a short time. But if he said no, Finny would find somewhere else to keep his sisters while he was gone. On the other hand, Phil would still be around, and Snaptrap was developing a crush on her; in fact, all the D.O.O.M. agents seemed to have crushes on Las Banditas. And who knew, maybe Finny would be back in a few weeks. "Okay," he answered, "but how are you gonna tell the girls?"

"I'll write a note you c'n give 'em after I'm gone. If I tell 'em before I leave, they'll tie me down an' slap me silly," Finny could not help but chuckle at the thought. "I'll be back soon's I can, that's a promise." Snaptrap knew Finny never broke a promise at any cost, so he just nodded in reply. Finny pulled him into a tight hug, "Thanks, Verm. You'll never know how much this means ta me!"


	8. Chapter 8: Leaving So Soon?

When Kitty woke up that morning, the first thing that came to mind was that Finny had left. Two weeks ago he had told her he was leaving today. He had to catch a plane to Africa at 4 a.m. to visit his father. Kitty groaned. She had seen Finny frequently in the past month, telling him all about herself, including her crush on Eric.

Finny had not been pleased. "Whatta ya know about the guy?" he had asked, "What's his last name? What's his favorite color? Favorite food? What's he allergic to? What if he's one a' those guys ya hear 'bout got, like, seven other wives in different cities? And what's he know about you? Before ya get serious 'bout this guy, try talkin' ta him, find out alla that stuff. Then you c'n decide if ya like 'im or not."

Kitty realized Finny was right, she did not really know much about Eric. She was also disappointed that Finny had not totally opened up to her. He had told her about traveling the country and going to Mexico, Rio and Puerto Rico, and that his twin sister and parents were all doing okay, but he never mentioned what job he did or where his sister was. Kitty hoped that Finny would be back soon; he had promised to return, and she had never known Phineus Rodentius to break a promise.

Even though D.O.O.M. and Las Banditas had joined forces, Finny and his sisters still lived in the Tudor house on the mountain they had claimed. There were enough bedrooms for each of the girls, but the banditas had a paranoia about the others abandoning them in their sleep if they roomed alone. Phil had dismissed the idea as silly and slept alone to show they had nothing to worry about. The pain after her parents' divorce had instilled a tremendous sense of loyalty in her and Finny, and that loyalty was extended to each other, to their father who had disappeared last year, sometimes to their mother (they did not always get along with Mom, she had kind of abandoned them after the divorce), to the girls of Las Banditas, and now to the agents of D.O.O.M.

When Phil woke up every morning, she liked to check on the others. Putting on a bathrobe, she stepped into the hall and opened the door next to her room. Turning the doorknob carefully to keep it from squeaking, she peeked in. Francesca was in the bottom bunk of the bunkbed, clutching a stuffed bunny her mother had given her when she was a baby. Lucia was in the top bunk. The weasel was a heavy, soundless sleeper, she barely moved at all.

Smiling, Phil softly closed the door and tiptoed to the room Juanita and Jacinta shared. "The two little J's," the others called them. Poor Jacinta, because of her quills, often had to sleep on her stomach. This left her feeling stiff when she woke up. On a pole Finny and Josie had installed in a corner of the ceiling, Juanita hung upside-down with a thumb in her mouth. Juanita always sucked her thumb before falling asleep. It was not a nervous habit, exactly, but she could not seem to fall asleep without doing it.

Phil went to the master bedroom next, where Josie and Salena slept. Josie lay in a queen-sized bed, snoring up a storm. Salena had a doggie basket in the corner, where she slept fitfully, kicking her feet while dreaming.

Next, Phil backtracked up the hall to the attic door. Finny had left the door open, so Phil just tiptoed up the steps. When she did not see her brother in bed, she figured he was either in the bathroom or the kitchen. The bathroom door was open and the room was empty, so Phil headed downstairs.

Phil was confused when she entered the silent kitchen, then stopped and nearly dropped dead when she saw his beeper on the counter. Phineus only ever took off his beeper when he showered, and even then it was always within his reach. Next to the beeper was a note. Phil's hand shook as she picked it up.

_My deer sisters, I had too leeve too see Dad. Dont worry, Vermy and his guyz will take care of you. Ill be back asap, I promise. Finny._

Phil dropped the paper and stumbled back, raising her hands to cover her mouth. Her brother was gone? He had left them? Phil could not even remember being separated from her twin for more than a day. Phil ran upstairs to grab her inhaler and took a breath. After that little panic attack, she calmed down and thought reasonably. She would have to wake the girls and tell them gently that their boss had left but would return soon. Then they would go to Snaptrap's house to tell the guys Finny was gone. Phil sighed shakily. She hoped everything would be okay.


End file.
